It is common practice to mix particulate solids, liquids and gases with motionless mixers having, as the name implies, no moving parts. Mixers of this category consist of baffles of various types arranged sequentially in a tube or pipe. By a process of division and recombination, separate input components can be mixed or dispersed within one another in travelling through the pipe tube or at its output. Static or motionless mixers are composed of a series of geometrically arranged mixing elements fitted within a pipe or tube, the energy of the flow stream being employed to create mixing between two or more fluids. The goal is to maximize fluid mixing while experiencing the lowest pressure loss possible.
Within the general category of static or motionless mixers, there are those referred to as wafer mixers. They are called wafer mixers because they are generally thin and are designed for applications where length is critical or for mixing low viscosity chemicals into a low viscosity stream at very high velocities. Oftentimes, wafer mixers are used with other static mixing devices as an overall solution to fluid mixing. A wafer mixer can be used at the joinder of two or more pipe lengths by fitting it between connecting flanges as noted in reference to FIG. 2. Oftentimes, wafer mixers are employed to provide mixing when the alternative is to not mix at all. Wafer mixers afford an inexpensive static mixing solution for many applications where some level of mixing is needed. Also, wafer static mixers work best when they are used for constant flow conditions. They are not well suited for applications having large differences between maximum and minimum flow rates.
Although wafer mixers should oftentimes be used with other static mixing devices, one should always strive to provide the maximum mixing efficiency whenever a mixer is employed. Most wafer mixing designs, fail to provide a high degree of turbulence or mixing in the downstream pipe length. Further, many do not provide for the injection and mixing of additives, such as those employed in water treatment. Thus, the present invention is intended to address these issues by providing a wafer mixer of far superior design and efficiency.
These and further objects will be readily apparent when considering the following disclosure and appended claims.